Channels

Services

Firefox 3.5 RC1 emerges

The Mozilla developers have released the first release candidate (RC1) of version 3.5 of their open source Firefox web browser, code named "Shiretoko". The release, currently only available to Firefox 3.5 beta and preview users, includes several new features and performance improvements.

Like the previous releases, the first RC is based on version 1.91 of the Gecko layout engine and includes several performance and stability improvements to the new Trace Monkey JavaScript engine. Support for new web technologies, such as HTML5 video and audio elements, JavaScript query selectors and downloadable fonts, have also been added. The developers advise that, as this is pre-release software, users may experience compatibility problems with some add-ons and web sites.

More details about the release can be found in the release notes. The Firefox 3.5 RC1 update is available to download for current beta and preview users through the Firefox update service by selecting Help, then "Check For Updates". The developers ask users to report any bugs they find on Bugzilla so that they can be addressed before the final release, expected at the end of June.